Spa Marketing in a Tough Economic Climate – Part 1

Being an aesthetician is a proud profession that allows you to help people look good and feel good about themselves.  Esthetics is an art form, but remember that as an aesthetician you are also in business, and while some people think that the business side of things is boring, it is a necessary part of your professional life.

Business Includes Good Record Keeping

Keeping records is an important part of the business side of being an aesthetician.  This includes contact information on clients, such as name, address, email address and phone number.  It is also good to collect personal information like date of birth, information you’ve collected on the client’s family.  More about that when we talk about marketing.  But, the most important part of record keeping in the minds of many people is financial, and the dreaded word “taxes”.  You need to keep accurate records of your income and expenses in order to know if you are making a profit or not and in order to file accurate tax returns and take advantage of all possible deductions.  You’ll do this by paying for all business expenses by check or credit card and keeping copies of your receipts.  Then you can prove that you made the purchase.  Also, if you don’t do your own tax preparation then you’ll make life much easier for your accountant.

Marketing Is Necessary And Can Be Fun

Marketing is a necessary part of the business of being an aesthetician and can be a very fun part of the business. Marketing is, after all, communication.  It is communicating who you are and what you do to clients and potential clients and reminding them that you are there.  That’s where the good records you’ve kept on your clients come in handy.  With the proper records you’ll know when a client has a birthday, an anniversary, or when their child graduates from school, allowing you to send a card and express your good wishes.  By having an email address you’ll be able to email out a mass newsletter on occasion with helpful tips on esthetics that will show that you care about your clients.  You can also send coupons for services discounts to those who have not been in lately.

Education Is Key

If  you don’t have academic training in business check out local community colleges. They often have basic business management courses, accounting for small business course, and basic marketing course available. Salesmanship is always offered, sometimes called personal selling.  Sometimes they offer these courses in shortened, non-credit versions.  Any time you invest in business training will pay off for you ten fold in the future.  Also, since you are in a people business a Dale Carnegie course, or something similar could be helpful.  Any class that helps you learn how to interact better with the public will make you a better business person.

While you may consider yourself an artist and a professional, remember that you are a business person also.  Gain knowledge and you’ll do better as an aesthetician.